European Stocks Close Higher Ahead Of Fed Rate Decision

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed higher on Wednesday, lifted by some fairly encouraging earnings updates from top U.S. and European companies, and positive lead from Wall Street.

Investors also awaited the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement, due later in the day. The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by 75 basis points. The focus is on the accompanying statement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting press conference for clues about the outlook for future rate hikes.

Microsoft reported weaker than expected fourth quarter results, but upbeat guidance company helped lift sentiment. Google parent Alphabet's results turned out to be fairly good despite falling short of expectations.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.47%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 surged 0.57%, Germany's DAX advanced 0.53% and France's CAC 40 gained 0.75%, while Switzerland's SMI drifted down 0.41%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey closed higher.

Denmark, Finland and Poland ended weak, while Iceland closed flat.

In the UK market, Smurfit Kappa Group, IAG, Mondi, Ocado Group, Smith (DS), Flutter Entertainment, Entain, IHG, Scottish Mortgage and CRH gained 2.4 to 5.5%.

Lloyds Banking Group gained 4.1% after hiking its dividend and full-year profitability forecast.

Reckitt Benckiser gained more than 2% after the consumer goods firm swung to interim profit.

Unite Group shares plunged nearly 8%. Avast, Dechra Pharmaceuticals, Haleon, Segro, British Land and Severn Trent shed 1 to 2%.

In Germany, HelloFresh surged nearly 6%. Infineon Technologies, Daimler, Vonovia, RWE, Sartorius, Deutsche Boerse and Deutsche Telekom gained 2 to 4%.

Adidas plunged more than 5%. Puma shed about 4%, while Continental, MTU Aero Engines, Fresenius Medical Care and Fresenius lost 1.6 to 3%. Deutsche Bank shed more than 1% after warning of economic risks after posting a better-than-expected 51% percent rise in second-quarter profit.

In the French market, Atos soared more than 16%. WorldLine zoomed nearly 14%. Valeo, STMicroElectronics, Air France KLM, Acco, Engie, Sodexo, Dassault Systemes and Carrefour gained 2 to 4%.

Michelin fell more than 6%. Capgemini, Danone, Sanofi and Orange shed 0.7 to 1%.

In economic news, Germany's consumer sentiment is set to hit a fresh low in August as fears of an impending recession and high inflation dampened economic and income expectations, survey results from the market research group GfK showed.

The consumer confidence index fell to -30.6 in August from revised -27.7 in July. The score was forecast to fall to -28.9.

France's consumer confidence weakened for the seventh successive month in July to reach its lowest level in just over nine years, monthly survey results from the statistical office Insee showed.

The consumer confidence index dropped to 80.0 in July from 82.0 in June, in line with expectations. The sentiment also remained well below its long-term average of 100.

UK shop prices increased the most since records began in 2005 amid cost of living crisis, the British Retail Consortium said on Wednesday.

Shop prices grew 4.4% on a yearly basis in July, faster than the 3.1% increase posted in June. This was the biggest annual growth since the index began in 2005.

The European Central Bank said Eurozone money supply growth slowed slightly in June and credit to the private sector logged a faster growth. The broad monetary aggregate M3 grew 5.7% annually in June, slightly slower than the revised 5.8% increase in May. M3 was forecast to grow 5.4%. In the three months to June, M3 growth averaged 5.9%.